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Uncharacteristically not crashing another thread, but when looking for a Collymore goal that might yet feature in the great goal a day thread, I found this. My nostalgia is obvious, but I'd venture that not-too-deep-down Bov enjoyed this Man City side more than the one that trots out today.



Incidentally, one of the joys of searching for 20 year old goals is that you don't get pages of goals from video games proudly presented as if they were actually meaningful or something. Tosspots.

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Pukka Pie pest

Embrace the margin
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City supporting mate of mine's favourite time of being a fan was the season they rinsed the Championship with Keegan at the helm. He was much more at home cheering on Shaun Goater et. al. than this lot. But, to City's credit, they've actually worked very hard as a club to maintain relevance and affinity with their old/core fanbase so... not sure it isn't just nostalgia. But then again, money does have a habit of impugning the dignity of stuff...

One thing it is easy to forget is just how much of a talent Stan Collymore was. His inability to keep his head screwed on (along with Michael Bridges' injuries) is the greatest unsung tragedy of modern English football. Could've been one of the best in the world. The lad had absolutely everything. Used to blast teams away single handedly when he was at Forest didn't he? That season we nabbed him off you he was incredible. Still get a bit teary thinking of him and Fowler linking up. That goal on his debut against Wednesday is one for the other thread for sure...

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Looks like Elijah Wood. Supports Liverpool. Likes Coldplay.

Happier days? Can’t speak for Bov, but no not for me! The 90’s were, in the main, dreadful as a City fan, a downward spiral punctuated by false dawns that only made each further plummet all the more galling. I’ve no desire whatsoever to go back to routinely being thumped and mocked by United, or watching Frank Clark choose between Barry Conlon or Ray Kelly as his star striker. I’ve no doubt there were some good away days for the fans in the third division, but my recollection is that sitting around 12th at Christmas with the club facing extinction was not much fun at all.

As for the early 2000’s yep the season under Keegan in the championship was great, but that soon faded thanks to some loopy transfer dealings and we were back in the mire. The season under Pearce when we barely mustered a goal was as dismal a footballing display as you’re ever likely to see, and then what do we know, we wind up back in a situation, where, were it not for Sheikh Mansoor’s intervention, the club could have gone to the wall within a matter of weeks. The AC Milan friendly just prior to the takeover, with Danny Mills telling national TV that we were facing a 'fire sale' was a particularly depressing low point.

The only thing that kept most fans going during those years was the dream that things might one day get better, and the flashes of brilliance from Kinkladze, Ali B, Berkovic etc. Now we get to watch a whole team of players of that ilk, and better, do their stuff every single week and live that dream of winning trophies and competing with the best. Why anyone would want to go back is beyond me. No we don’t have a team full of local homegrown players, but that hasn’t been the case for nearly 25 years, so if we’re going to have non Mancunians making up the side, I’d rather they were the best we could possibly get. I have just as much affinity with Zabba, Kompany, Silva, Aguero etc as I do with any other player in my time supporting the club, and I would rather have Mansoor and what he is doing for my club than a Swales or his ilk any day of the week. The journey was a story and a half, but the destination is well worth it.

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Knowing M.E, Knowing You.. Ah Ha!

David Silva loves Bakewell Tarts the best
He'll eat a box and leave none for the rest
De Gea's doughnuts never look the part
next to Silva's Bakewell Tart!

At the risk of this thread becoming one purely focused on City (and we know where that will end up...) I shall briefly agree with Shands that I watched that clip with little fondness, for the reasons he's mentioned. The season Westie mentioned, where we walked Div 1 (now Championship) under King Kev was indeed fantastic though - Bernarbia, Berkovic, the Goat, Huckerby... we seemed to score 3 every week and played such great football. I'd be lying though if I said watching Silva, Toure, Kompany, Aguerro and Negredo play for us wasn't something of great joy though, especially as this City side play a brand of football that's beautiful to watch (as opposed to the often more constrained approach that Roberto used).

What I actually miss most about the good old days is going down the pub to watch my team play. The big clubs battling for the Premier League rarely receive much fondness from neutrals and living in London, which is full of fans of Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal and of course, Liverpool and United, means you are always going to have rival fans wanting you to drop points.

Another thing I miss, at games, is atmosphere. My last visit to the Etihad was a 6-0 win and obviously the mood was amazing but I'm not sure I'd say the atmosphere was all that electric. My last visit to the Emirates was even worse; a 2-0 home win for Arsenal but you could have heard a pin drop from the home fans. Some of it is down to the people going to the game being more middle class (especially at Arsenal!) than when I was a nipper but a lot is to do with the grounds. I go to Palace with the boy, and Selhurst is an absolute dump, but the atmosphere is amazing. The singing from a section of about 600, who all stand throughout the match, means that the mood is high even when the football's dull or the team losing.

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